BLOGTECHNIKA |
- What Is New In Android 4.1 JellyBean?
- How Exactly Does Nexus Q Work?
- Get Back The Stolen Clocks With The Addictive Beat Sneak Bandit On iPhone
- Google I/O 2012: Day 2 Round Up
- How Do People Really Use Their Phones? (An Infographic)
- Google Chrome And Google Drive Now Available For iOS
| What Is New In Android 4.1 JellyBean? Posted: 29 Jun 2012 01:11 PM PDT Google's next android iteration may not be a huge leap that many were anticipating. Launching about six months ahead of ICS it grabs the opportunity not just as a minor numerical bump(4.1 from 4.0), but also a few new features to enjoy. Slated to arrive in nexus devices by mid-July, its by and large an improved version of Ice Cream Sandwich. The major change in coding came in form of the PROJECT BUTTER. In words of Darren Murph "Google has retooled Android to be even more responsive, so that it ramps up whatever power lies within the moment a finger touches the screen. The goal here is to achieve 60 frames per second across the board on modern hardware; that could mean bad news for older devices that may or may not get the update, but phones like the Galaxy Nexus seem to gain horsepower simply due to coding improvements." The phone feels zippy and butter smooth. Chrome loads in an instant, voice search results are out in an instant. One could go on and on. Android is finally at a place where it feels completely buttoned up from silkiness point of view. One remembers, that in the past even quad core devices were not free from occasional lag while swiping between homescreens, owing mainly due to irregularities and inefficiencies in coding.
So here is exactly what is new: Predictive Keyboard: Jelly Bean's keyboard looks very much like the stock keyboard on ICS. But start typing and you'll know the difference. Google didn’t take too much time to point it out, but the new prediction algorithm tucked into Jelly Bean’s factory keyboard is hugely noteworthy. Much like the third-party alternatives, like SwiftKey and Swype Google’s version learns as you type and begins to make next-word recommendations based on familiar phrases you use. Offline Maps: Google promised us earlier this month that its offline mapping solution would be coming soon, just in time for Apple to debut its own mapping solution for iOS 6. Right in line with Jelly Bean’s launch, offline Maps is now a reality for Android smartphones. It’s exactly what you probably assume it is: the same Maps you know and love, but with the ability to navigate sans a live data connection. The concept here is far from new; even in early 2010, a Nokia device was pulling top honors in our smartphone GPS shootout thanks to its ability to operate offline. Fast forward a few years, and the Lumia’s Nokia Drive app still remains a phenomenal option due to — you guessed it — offline support. Homescreen Tweeks: The homescreen hasn't changed much. Though now its easier to drag icons. The icons and widgets align themselves. Google now: Quoting Darren Murph, " Google Now can be activated by holding down the “Home” key and swiping up (or just swiping north from the lock screen). But unlike Siri, which simply requires you to start speaking, this action in Jelly Bean brings up an entirely new portal. Now unfolds, revealing a scrollable list of “Cards” that are just beautiful. (Unlike those from the webOS days, these scroll down rather than across, and don’t swipe up or down as the images in the new Gallery do.) The fonts, textures and borders on these things are truly gorgeous. It’s a fun place to fix your eyes within Android, because truthfully, it’s lovely to look at. Beyond that, though, it’s also highly informative. The cards that emerge will become better with time — assuming you opt into Now from the get-go. You see, Now makes no bones about how it gains intelligence: it watches you. It remembers what you frequently search for. It looks at your current location. It recalls which flights you’ve been searching for. It’s kind of creepy, but honestly, that’s what makes it wise. It’s also worth noting just how natural the robotic voice is whenever you are lucky enough to ask Now something that it can reply to. It’s entirely believable, unlike the very humanoid-y Siri." Offline voice dictation: Voice input and dictation have always been hampered by internet connectivity. Finally, now you wont have to rely on a connection to use that feature. With Jelly Bean Google has woven voice recognition tools within the OS. Even in airplane mode, you can dictate emails and text messages with ease. Jelly Bean may not be the quantum leap, but its the fine tuning of ICS that many had been waiting for. Its splendidly fast, the keyboard is stellar and Google now is brilliant. The primary problem, however, is availability. It’s only hitting the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and Motorola Xoom in mid-July, with every other Android device in that all-too-familiar wait-and-see mode. But all that will have to wait. Do tell what you think of the latest android release and don't forget to leave you valuable comments below. Blogtechnika would like to thank Mr. Ankur Jangra for his immense contribution towards this post. (Via: Engadget) Related posts:
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| How Exactly Does Nexus Q Work? Posted: 29 Jun 2012 02:22 AM PDT Google took curtains off the Nexus Q at the Google I/O on the first day of the developers conference. With a hefty price of $299 on its head, Nexus Q is a device that has left a lot of people scratching their heads on what exactly is this device.
Some have called it Google’s attempt at Apple TV while the others before even looking at it have branded it a doomed failure. What Nexus Q definitely represents is Google’s first steps into the field of hardware and maybe a move towards a totally vertically integrated system like Apple. So how exactly does this streaming device work? Here is the perfect explanation: No related posts. |
| Get Back The Stolen Clocks With The Addictive Beat Sneak Bandit On iPhone Posted: 29 Jun 2012 01:52 AM PDT Price: $2.99 Category: Games Released: Feb 16, 2012 Version: 1.0 Size: 72.4 MB You won't need to play Beat Sneak Bandit for long to realise its creators are every bit as nimble as their protagonist. It is a bright, angular comic-book world. It's a game assured enough in the quality of its design that the rewards it offers are entirely intrinsic – and its confidence is well-placed. You play the Beat Sneak Bandit, breaking into themansionofDuke Clockface. He has, for some dark and notorious reasons, stolen all the clocks from Pulsebury. Your job is to take back all the clocks without being caught. The ingenuity of the level design is appreciable, with clocks placed in the most elusive of spots, dares you to discover the secret to reaching them. The grunt of a security guard lets you know he's changing direction, while a mechanical whirr accompanies the clockwork movements of barriers and trapdoors. Successfully hopping through a string of lights that illuminate on successive beats offers relief and satisfaction in equal measure, and there's a meticulousness to both setup and execution, as you'd imagine would be the case for a real-life heist. There's a remarkable consistency to the design even as the levels gets steadily bolder until, after hovering vacuums, teleporters, and levers that freeze time, Simogo throws in a climactic boss battle that is as tough as it is joyous. Every aspect has been expertly crafted, from the high level game design down to the details of the menus is pretty awesome.
Your buddy Herbie the frog is there to help you on your way. Through a series of charming phone call scenes, Herbie introduces you to all the basics. First you learn that you can only move with the beat, as indicated on screen for those who can’t pick it out by hearing alone. Tapping in time will sneak Bandit across platforms and onto clocks, completing each level as he goes. While Bandit needs to climb, fall, and turn himself about, these tricks are part of grander puzzles. As you progress through four areas that are dressed up with thematic backdrops, the Duke calls in to taunt you with his newest tricks and traps. You’ll encounter spotlights, which end your robbery attempt if they light up while you’re beneath them. Then there are guards on patrol, who will stop you if they see you. Robots come at you when you sneak across their floor, and they need only move above you to end your spree. The environment is none too simple either, as it’s littered with gates, trap doors and teleport pads. So moving to the beat is only a small part of the challenge. Most of your attention will be paid to planning out a safe route through. Generally it isn’t all that hard to reach the main clock, but there are four smaller clocks scattered in each level, and reaching those always require quite some creative thinking, careful timing and smart gameplay. Moving off beat destroys the one on your floor. Since you move to the beat and so does everything else, planning ahead for where you’ll be and which direction you’ll be facing when you get there is doable, but always more and more challenging. Beat Sneak Bandit is very forgiving, so no matter your skill you’ll always be able to move forward. When you fail a level a few times, Herbie will check to see if you want to skip it, no harm done. You don’t strictly need to complete any given level to progress, never mind collecting the extra clocks. If you do manage to collect most of the clocks, though, you’ll open up bonus shadow levels that cloak you in silhouette. These are harder than the others by design, and the shadowed world doesn’t make things easier. They are gorgeous, though. The few cutscenes are beautifully laid out, the levels are designed with a good measure of whimsy, and the animations are adorably matched. Even the interface elements hold to the look of the game perfectly, right down to the last detail. And then, of course, there’s the music. It always has a good beat, and a similar theme runs through each level. But the sound varies between electronic, jazz, funk and more spooky tracks. These are constantly changing from level to level because part of each track is made up of the sounds of all the moving pieces. Patrolling guards make one sound as they move, trapdoors opening and closing make another. Not only is this aurally excellent, it also means you can use your ears to keep track of each moving part. Beat Sneak Bandit sports 40 main levels and 16 shadow levels. It also has 20GameCenterachievements, most of which encourage you to play in new and challenging ways. Of course, you can also earn one for collecting all the extra clocks, but that’s a challenge that’s quite a lot of fun to work toward. It’s rare to find a game that does something so original so well, with every element of gameplay and design falling into place. Simogo has pulled it off with Beat Sneak Bandit. According to us it’s a must buy, better still if you can get it from installous.Play, enjoy, and get the clocks. App Store Link: Beat Sneak Bandit, $2.99 (Universal) No related posts. |
| Google I/O 2012: Day 2 Round Up Posted: 29 Jun 2012 01:30 AM PDT After making a lot of news yesterday for having launched Jelly Bean 4.1 with improved features, unveiling the Nexus 7 and the Nexus Q, updates to Google+ and the scintillating Project Glass. The second day belonged primarily to the Chrome and its applications. Google stacked up its metric stats revealing the ever-growing world of internet, globally rising dedicated Chrome users and why and what it is upto and how its sole browser is the reason behind internet's popularity. Reasoning the very 310 million users worldwide, they decided introducing the Chrome sync between OS X, Chromebook, Tablet, phone and notebook. Targeting the Apple's Safari users worldwide, they introduced the Chrome for the ipad and the iphone with impressive overall performance.
Google Drive is coming to more platforms as well, including iOS. This includes document editing functionality. Google drive searching using an OCRed image was demonstrated, in addition image recognition for image search is now enabled as well. Drive on Chrome OS has become the file system for accessing documents and synced files. Collaborative editing works across these multiple platforms as well. Offline editing for documents has now been added. Formatting and changes are saved locally and then synced back up to Google Drive when network connectivity is restored, even with the page closed. Google has also updated its Google Drive SDK for better access to functionality to integrate third party web applications with Google Drive.
Next, they talked of the Series 5 Chromebook, the Series 3 Chromebox and the redefined ChromeOS. They said that they have been working very hard for the same, bringing up weekly updates for the past one year and they managed to speed up the books upto three times thanks to the faster CPU and the hardware acceleration. Chromebooks will be available in retail stores as well; no talks of countries apart from the US as yet!
Infrastructure is up next with talk about Google’s datacenters. App Engine is now serving 7.5 billion hits per day and 2 trillion noSQL operations per month. Google just announced Google Compute Engine, which gives you a Linux Virtual Machine, or a number of them with various storage options. Launching a ton of VMs at Google’s scale with Compute Engine is now a possibility.
A streaming gaming service running on a Chrome box was up next, from Gaikai. This looks a lot like OnLive, but uses a native code sandbox application to run smoothly on Chrome OS. Chrome applications are expanding and getting new containers and functionality. Google then showed off a Chrome Cirque de Soleil application using some fancy CSS transforms and Chrome.
That was all for the day. Stay Tuned for the latest on day three's happenings. via Techradar No related posts. |
| How Do People Really Use Their Phones? (An Infographic) Posted: 29 Jun 2012 01:20 AM PDT We are slowly being ushered into the Post PC era. It is all about Mobile and Tablets now. PC’s gradually seem to be taking a step backwards as these devices are what we use more and more everyday to stay connected. Our dependece on phones and Tablets has become so much that we at times shudder to think what would it be to go a day without them. It is still possible funnily enough to stay without your computer. so how exactly are the phones used, they are no more merely the calling and texting devices. They are used for music and playing games etc, i short they have also become the entertainment hub. here is an interesting infographic to tell you how exactly does the world use their smart phones. (Via: Visual)
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| Google Chrome And Google Drive Now Available For iOS Posted: 29 Jun 2012 01:10 AM PDT All the Google lovers on iOS can now rejoice as two of the most frequently used Google Applications have found their way on iOS. The internet browser Chrome which has become the most used Desktop browser, both on Mac and Windows finally makes the transition post Google I/O where it was announced out of beta. Google Drive has also evolved from Google Documents and is widely used by folks already on Android.
Google Chrome UI is pretty similar to the Chrome on Android that we have been using over the last 5/6 months on Ice Cream Sandwich. It allows you to connect your desktop too by logging in to your Google account and also syncing the bookmarks across the devices. There is also the ability to open multiple tabs and integrate third party applications for reading the web pages later. It is an extremely clean UI and very easy to use. You can add upto 6 pages that you wish to use frequently in the square boxes for easy and quick access.
Google Drive on the other hand is a popular cloud storage service which enables you to have about 5 GB of free storage in the cloud with your Google Account. The application is again extremely similar to how it is on Android, the UI is exactly the same. you can make your documets available to be read offline or also edit the documents minorly. You can obvioulsy upload and download the documents too at anytime given you have a working internet connection. We would soon be reviewing both these applications on video, so do stay tuned for that. It definitely is great news for those on iOS to be getting these services from Google. Google Drive especially looks great on iPad and Chrome is a joy to use with its simplicity and fast speed. What are your views on these? Do let us know in the section below. No related posts. |
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